HATCH TO RETIRE; ROMNEY AS SENATOR? – AT 5:05 P.M. ET:  Orrin Hatch, ancient senator from Utah, will not run for re-election this year.  Will Mitt Romney , a Republican critic of the president, run for the seat and possibly make another bid for president in 2020?  From CNBC:

Orrin Hatch, currently the second-longest serving U.S. senator, plans to retire at the end of his term.
In a video shared on Twitter, the 83-year-old Utah Republican announced his plan to leave the Senate early next year after more than 40 years. Hatch's announcement came just a little more than a week after the Republican tax plan that he helped to craft was signed into law.

President Donald Trump had urged Hatch, the Senate Finance Committee chairman, to seek re-election later this year. Hatch showered Trump with praise during and after Congress' passage of its tax bill, setting himself apart from some GOP senators who criticized the president's actions or fitness for office this year.

In the video, Hatch said he was "deeply grateful" to serve as a senator and said "the next chapter in my public service is just beginning."

And...

Former Massachusetts Gov. and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney was considering running for Hatch's seat if the senator retired, according to reports. Romney has strongly criticized Trump and could prove another irritant to the president if elected.

Romney lives in Utah and is popular in the state. He will be 71 at the time of this year's midterm elections.

In a statement Tuesday, Romney thanked Hatch but did not address whether he plans to run for the seat.

"Senator Hatch has represented the interests of Utah with distinction and honor," he said in a Facebook post.

COMMENT:  If Romney runs, I'd imagine Trump would find a way to endorse him, even if it's a cold endorsement.  Romney should have no great difficulty winning the seat as Utah is ultra-Republican.  Then he would have to decide whether to mount a primary challenge against Trump in 2020, or against Mike Pence if Trump is no longer president.

January 2, 2018